Talking with composers: Mark Grey

Interview

"Getting my hands dirty planting the earth, tending to the land with a chainsaw, baking and brewing, reading, and maybe driving up the Highway 1 coastline will ultimately blow out any cobwebs. Also, long walks and hikes really get my ideas flowing."

Talking with singers: Erwin Schrott

Interview

"Let's face it: if we had the chance to clone ourselves in a younger self and keep our memories or our soul…I wonder how many of us will take the chance immediately."

Talking with singers: Grace Davidson

Interview

"I have always felt that Baroque music is my natural habitat. I love working with historical instrumentalists, everything about their unique colour, tone and pitch feels comfortable for me and relates to the way I sing a line or phrase."

Talking with singers: Patrick Terry

Interview

"I wish I had started to save money earlier. I wish I had invested in travel containers for toiletries earlier, because I cannot tell you how many tiny shampoos I have accumulated over the years."

Talking with singers: Soraya Mafi

Interview

"I often take for granted how lucky we are to have access to such wonderful music and music-makers in London. The rich history of classical music in London has enabled musicians to take advantage of world-class composers, conductors, teachers and venues."

Talking with singers: Jacquelyn Stucker

Interview

"Handel wrote this role for castrato Gioacchino Conti, who was, by all accounts that I read, a complete freak of nature: he could allegedly sing high Cs (as in, C6), and while he preferred to sing roles with more lyrical material, he was known to be equally virtuosic in how he executed coloratura."

A Figaro for a New Generation: Victoria Stevens

Interview

"I am also excited to have a predominantly female production team around me, made up of inspiring women with strong ideas and the conviction to realise them."

Talking with singers: Frederica von Stade

Interview

"I've been singing from the time I was three. Singing has always been a great comfort. As a child I had a wild imagination and I was always creating little scenes. If I was playing with leaves, I would make pathways and roads."

Don't miss: The Monstrous Child

Interview

Though still young, Higgins is a seasoned composer; and though there are learning curves to writing for the voice, he wisely keeps his eyes on the final product: an opera for families.

Talking with conductors: Michael Christie

Interview

"You know, thank goodness that we're beginning to deal more and more with questions and issues of diversity. But Young Artist Programs can't deal with the diversity questions if there isn't a pipeline beforehand."